April 2, 2018: I’m THAT guy!

I’m the guy who strikes up a conversation with the person standing beside me in the checkout line. The guy who will approach someone on the street to ask them where they got the coffee with the unique lid they’re holding in their hand. The guy my girlfriend considers crazy for talking to complete strangers every chance I get. All true and yet, in feeding my socialpathic tendencies whenever we’re walking the dogs or going out for lunch or picking up almond butter at the local health food shop, I’ve met some very interesting people. For instance –

Guy who lives in our building who works in intelligence (struck up a conversation with him in the elevator)

Music producer and his wife, the defense attorney (struck up a conversation with them while out for dinner with the guy who works in intelligence)

Owner of an indoor advertising company (struck up a conversation with him while visiting our storage locker)

Anime enthusiast and owner of online Evangelion t-shirt shop (struck up a conversation with him while out for a stroll)

Innumerable dog owners (struck up a conversation anywhere and everywhere provided they’re accompanied by a dog)

I’m thinking rather than tone it down, I’m going to make a concerted effort to meet someone new every day. Yes, I’m going to be THAT guy – the crazy dude who’ll start chatting with you out of the blue. Look out!

A lot of ways things can go but, realistically, only one way they should go: whether it’s a direct-to-streaming film, a miniseries, a fourth long-form t.v. show, or wrap-up movie, IT HAS TO take place within the pre-existing television universe established by Stargate: SG-1 and developed in spinoffs Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe. And I say “IT HAS TO” because, if it doesn’t, and we go the reboot route and wipe out 17 years of television history, I predict a lot of very angry, very vocal Stargate fans hitting the internet.

Finally, I leave you with a little something from back in the day. Dark Matter Day 1 – introducing the crew of The Raza:

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baterista9 AKA gildermcc

Despite my parents’ and husband’s efforts, I’ve always been “THAT gal”. It’ No wonder that you and I get along, Joe. 😃

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2 Apr 2018 8:57 pm

baterista9 AKA gildermcc

Correction: It’s no wonder…

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2 Apr 2018 8:59 pm

Line Noise

I am NOT that guy! I’m very poor at smalltalk which results in long, embarrassing pauses during conversations when I’m trying to think of something to say next.

However, I agree that it’s good to meet people because there’s some very interesting people out there!

One of the best random meetings I had was a flight from Los Angeles to New Zealand. I was sat between a young lady and an elderly gentleman. The lady turned out to be a truck driver heading down to Antarctica for the summer to drive a forklift. The elderly gentleman was a geologist heading to a conference in Australia. He worked for NASA and his area of expertise was Martian geology.

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2 Apr 2018 8:58 pm

DP

I’m the one who read the pedestrian kill count off the morning news and I’ll be listening carefully to traffic at the intersection and when you talk to me, I’ll seem startled and look really confused that someone is making sounds at me, then remember, “oh, speech” and have to forget where all those cars I was tracking are so I can access words from a different part of my brain. I’ll replay your words in my head to figure out what you said. You’ll start in on French at that point and I’ll have to tune that out so I can process your English words. I’ll manage an, “oh, hi” just as the walk signal shows and make a face at the walk signal sound and you’ll wonder if I was making a face at you. Sorry about that. It really is the fault of the drivers.

Even though I frequently express my disdain for the human race, I am also that guy. My poor wife is content to mind her own business, but we can’t stand in a checkout line for more than 60 seconds before I’m buddies with half the people in line. She says it’s just because I never shut up & strangers are easy prey. She isn’t completely wrong.

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2 Apr 2018 10:00 pm

Ponytail

I’m that girl you were taking to in the checkout line at the store, or going down the isle at the grocery store, or met in the elevator, I will cherish our under-five-minute casual relationship every time I see you, and be so glad when you walk away. Over time, don’t be surprised if I remember everything you say and one day surprise you with your favorite pie. “I knew you’d be here….”

I talk to strangers all the time. I was a shy child, even when moving around with the Navy and always being the new kid, until the day I made a friend as a teenager. A friend who was outgoing and wildly popular, and in our tiny school in Shiraz, I suddenly became popular too. I decided not to be shy anymore. I can be quiet and get tongue tied, but I can also wing it when I want. Now I am the often too loud and far too snarky old lady.

However, plop me in front of a celebrity, I make squeaky noises, blush, and turn into a six year old again. I have no idea why.

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2 Apr 2018 10:45 pm

Duptiang

You are from Canada and I am from Minnesota. Having an impromptu conversation with a stranger is a real trip. How does one learn what’s new. In my travels I have many times lamented that I didn’t start a conversation sooner. Not that I am a gabber; far from it. I have a tendency to be shy and introverted. But, I have often been surprised at what I learned.

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2 Apr 2018 10:46 pm

JeffW

I’m am somewhat loquacious, but I’ve learned from my time in the UK that not everyone likes to talk and some social norms actually discourage it.

In visiting London (where cafe tables can be at a premium), it’s common to share a table with a complete stranger. After asking if the seat was taken, most Brits would then studiously ignore you (in a polite way ). Being the “loud and gregarious American”, I would strike up a detailed and inquisitive conversation, sometimes to the horror of my new table mate, who just wanted to be ignored.

I’ve learned to reign in my gregariousness to be polite in those situations, but when I’m back on more familar ground, I switch back to my normal self.

I think it’s lovely that you’re THAT guy. It makes me very nervous when I’m around people who do that though, because I’m South African, so you’re raised not talking to anyone so that you’re not murdered. Sad but true. In Australia, I seem to be the person who random people just start telling their life stories to. I don’t know what it is but we could setup some sort of empirical experiment and the results would be that people home in on me, of all the people they could go to.

Met a couple in a hotel elevator in Takamatsu Japan…. chatted in a hotel restaurant, and then got up at 5:00AM the next morning for an hour of zazen meditation at a temple they frequented….

An interesting experience… but I’m not THAT guy!

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3 Apr 2018 5:59 am

Tammy Dixon

Southerns talk to everyone too. Me, it depends on my mood. If I’m in pain, I keep to myself but otherwise, I like hearing about other people’s lives. There’s one older gent that used to swim laps in a neighboring lane who’s daughter was a lawyer in Afghanistan. She worked for the U. S. Government and had to take a mandatory vacation every three weeks. (Can you imagine the stress levels). So this gent would fly over and they would travel through Europe together. Very cool! I never would have known that if I didn’t to strangers.

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3 Apr 2018 10:01 am

shinyhula

I can’t help chatting people up, that’s why I love conventions; people who love what you love all in one place. Sometimes I chat people up and it goes sideways, but after being a super shy little kid it feels good to be fearless about chatting up strangers.

I am so glad you are who you are. You’re an amazing writer with many talents and abilities, and your outgoing personality is an inspiration. We all could learn how to be better beings through your example. Keep on keeping on (quoting The Moody Blues).

Really I’m thinking, “that guy” is the normal mode and the rest not so much. Humans are like food, sample all you can. Some will be your cup of tea, some won’t… nothing lost and a lot to gain. Talk on!

I am a veteran of the NYC subway system and city buses, where if you look up from your reading or directly at someone, it is construed as either confrontational or nosy.
But, as I grow older I find myself speaking to strangers in the elevator at work, in grocery stores, waiting on line, etc. I usually share something I believe is funny or observational. I have opinions on everything you see.
So, put me in the camp that believes it is better to strike up a chat, be friendly, learn about someone or something new and, at least, share a quick laugh. It’s good for the soul.
=^-^= =^-^=

P.S. Bring back Stargate, in canon, as a series produced by Brad Wright & Rob Cooper, Joe Mallozzi {everyone cheer!!}

@2cats I know the NYC mentality well. People walk with their heads down. Two stories I remember from my visits back there. I was in a grocery store waiting in line (I was up there to be bridesmaid in my dear friend’s wedding & went up a few days before to help). There was a younger child who wanted to have a conversation with me. Everyone was staring at me. What did it hurt. We were all standing in line. The line wasn’t going to move any faster whether we talked or did not. The mother didn’t seem to mind, but everyone else thought I must have had another agenda. The further we got out of NYC (say like Montauk) people were more laid back. When I went up in 2012 people had not changed. This woman was about to run into me and when I realized she wasn’t moving and I moved to the side and I said “excuse me.” She turned around and got so hostile with me that my friend thought she was going to punch me out. I kept trying to explain, “we were about to collide in the street, so I moved away and when you do that you say “excuse me” which was not a hostile tone whatsoever. She wasn’t hearing me. I just left it alone because my friend was grabbing me and telling me to move because she thought this woman was going to punch me. Yet, they have the exact opposite hearts when tragedy strikes. Terrorism, weather, you name it. Then it is neighbor helping neighbor. It’s really bizarre.

Living in the south I guess we have the same, but hostile in lesser quantities. Road rage definitely. But people love to have conversations with strangers here.

It’s possible to compromise on the reboot by performing a kind of reboot with Stargate while still staying true to the original canon… such as by using an early isolated Stargate colony sent to an off-world planet with a permanent base established. After all, SG1 wasn’t the only Stargate team while the SGC was in operation. It was just the team we saw the most of. We also don’t know how many teams there were and we certainly didn’t see them all. This allows retains universe canon without necessarily retaining all of the baggage, offering a bit more creative freedom.

I agree that a reboot that tosses all canon is likely to be the most fan contentious and may jeopardize the show’s success. I would say it all depends on if you want to retain existing fans or if you’re attempting to build a brand new fan base… and what the show’s creative goals are. A new show with no canon means you get to build it all again from scratch (more creative writing freedom… less hands tied). A canon-based show means less creative freedom and more research each time someone writes an episode to ensure the stories stay within canon (i.e., more challenging to write).

I’d also like to point out that if the Ori can build a portable gate out of ships in a ring, then other forms of smaller portable gates are also possible.

I’m that girl. The ones who people tell their life stories. Or something terrible going on in their lives. All the stores we frequent know us my name and Patrick, too. But we are also the people who send thank yous, or holiday cards, or even Christmas gifts, even if it is a small thing like a stack of chocolate chip cookies made for them to thank them for all they do for us during the year. In November, one of the person at the pharmacy asks me when I might be starting to make those delicious peanut butter cups I give to them each year. I laugh and thank her for thinking they are delicious and likely it will be closer to Christmas versus right after Thanksgiving. The greeters are Walmart know us well and say hello to Patrick by name. It’s nice.

Now about Stargate. I can say without a doubt that if they decide to do a reboot, no one will watch. A reboot works well with things like “Lost in Space” A reboot will not work well for a reboot of the series. That is why Roland Emmerich pulled out of doing a reboot for a 3-movie deal.